We’ve joined forces with our friends at Penguin Random House and goplaces.co.uk to bring you an exclusive competition to celebrate the launch of Andrea Mara’s electrifying new novel, ‘No One Saw A Thing‘.

You’re in for a treat! It’s the ultimate getaway package, offering you the perfect backdrop to immerse yourself in this riveting thriller that promises to keep you enthralled until the last page.

Enter the competition here.

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An Interview with Andrea:

Could you give us an insight into what inspired you to write ‘No One Saw A Thing’?

No One Saw A Thing was inspired by something that happened to me as a child while on holiday in London with my parents and sisters. My younger sister and I got on a Tube, and before my parents and other sisters could get on, the doors slid shut and the Tube took off. We had no idea what to do, but the person beside us had heard my dad shouting ‘Tower Bridge!’ through the closed door and told us where to get off. The rest of the family caught up with us shortly after, but it’s only now as an adult that I can truly understand how terrifying it must have been for my parents. 

People often look for ways to escape the pressures of their day-to-day lives. How do you relax and unwind after a long day of writing?

Much as I’d like to pretend I unwind with a long walk or a run, the truth is, after a long day writing and looking after my kids, all I want to do is read and watch something really good on TV. My husband and I have exactly the same taste in TV shows – the crimier the better – and woe betide the person who watches ahead when the other one isn’t there. 

What’s your favourite spot to visit in the UK when you’re in need of a little relaxation or inspiration?

Any time I spend in the UK (I’m from Dublin) is usually book related – trips to London or to Harrogate for the crime festival there. So if I could go for leisure, I’d love to go to Devon. It’s somewhere I spent time on childhood holidays, and I have wonderful memories of how beautiful it was there. I’d love to return for nostalgic reasons too, to retrace childhood steps.

If you could invite three people, past or present, to join you on a relaxing getaway, who would they be, and where would you take them?

I was going to pick three people I think are incredibly talented, so I could see what makes them tick – Taylor Swift, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Barbara Kingsolver. But then I figured for a truly relaxing break, I should go with people I know very well, so I’d choose my three sisters, and we’d go to Clonakilty in West Cork. 

Are there any destinations you dream of visiting that you haven’t been able to yet?

I’d love to visit Edinburgh as I’ve never been to Scotland. This is somewhat unusual for an Irish person, as Scotland is close in distance and heritage, but somehow I’ve never been. I’ve heard Edinburgh is beautiful but also easy for tourists to navigate, which would be a big selling point. 

If you hadn’t pursued a writing career, what would you think you would be doing instead?

I worked in Financial Services for 17 years and only left because they closed our Dublin office and moved the work to Luxembourg – if that hadn’t happened, I’d still be there. If I could do something creative with no pressure to earn money or actually be good at it, I’d love to be a photographer. A career taking photos of nice things to put on Instagram! 

Quick fire round:

1. Where is your favourite place to relax?

In truth, my bedroom. It’s got floor to ceiling bookshelves wrapped around a big picture window and it’s where I go to escape once the words are written and the kids are fed!

2. Does writing energise or exhaust you?

Both, for sure. I think most authors feel the same – there’s a natural high that comes with getting words down on paper. A strange kind of exhausted, wired energy.

3. What are 3 words to describe yourself?

Disciplined. Giddy. Overthinker. 

4. What is one thing everyone should do?

Try something you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t think you could. For me, that was writing a book. I thought, ‘why would I think I can write a book?’ and if it wasn’t for redundancy, and a nudge from a writer I know, I don’t think I’d have done it. So that’s my pay-it-forward message – try that one thing you’ve always wanted to do.

5. What are you reading right now?

An advance copy of Truth Truth Lie by Claire McGowan, a super pacy thriller set on a Scottish island, coming out in May this year. 

6. What 3 things can’t you leave the house without?

A notebook and pen, in case I think of the BEST book idea ever and can’t write it down, and of course, like almost everyone in 21^st century life, my phone. 

7. Best way to travel, train, plane or car?

Train for sure. There’s something intriguing and exotic and romantic about train travel. That sense (possibly prompted by Agatha Christie books) that anything could happen. 

8. Reading, TV, Music – in order of preference?

Reading, TV, Music in that order exactly. 

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Enter the competition here.

PRIZE INCLUDES

• 2/3 night (dependent on venue choice) stay in a Country Hotel Breaks hotel of your choice

• A luxury 3-piece Samsonite Popsoda luggage set worth £645.00
• A signed copy of NO ONE SAW A THING

3 x runners up each will win:

1 x £100 Country Hotel Breaks voucher
1 x Samsonite Popsoda Cabin Case worth £195
1 x Joules Holdall worth £70
1 x Dune London Vanity Case worth £79
1 x Copy of NO ONE SAW A THING

The competition closes on Friday, 15th March 2024 , and we’ll notify the lucky winner shortly after that date.